Category: Business & Economy

UBS, Credit Suisse face growing probe over alleged Russian sanctions evasion

The US Department of Justice has stepped up its probe into Credit Suisse Group and UBS Group over suspected compliance failures that allowed Russian clients to evade sanctions, according to people familiar with the situation. What began as a series of subpoenas sent to a range of banks early this year has developed into a full-scale investigation focusing on Credit…

15 Palestinians arrested in the West Bank

Occupied Jerusalem, SANA- The Israeli occupation forces arrested 15 Palestinians on Wednesday in different areas in the West Bank. Wafa News Agency reported that the occupation forces stormed at dawn on Wednesday Beit Daqo town and al-Issawiya village in occupied Jerusalem and arrested eight Palestinians, and five others in Nablus city, including three brothers and two young men from Tubas…

Why the Secrecy Over Vaccine Contracts?

Major international governments have signed multibillion-dollar legal contracts with drug companies in order to secure access to covid-19 vaccines. But the drug companies and governments have refused to divulge details, saying the information is “commercial in confidence.” In 2021, we got our first peek at contracts between Pfizer and various international countries after they were leaked to The Bureau of Investigative Journalism and…

This China trade war isn’t about semiconductors: Straits Times

  BEIJING – In the gloom of China’s economy, one area of business is booming: cosmetics. After enduring nearly three years of mandatory masks and frequent lockdowns during the Covid-19 pandemic, many Chinese consumers, wary of big-ticket purchases like apartments, are now splurging on lipstick, perfume, moisturisers and other personal care products. But cosmetics companies from France, Japan, South Korea…

Australia Signs $210 Million Underwater Tracking Contract

  Australia has awarded US defense contractor L3Harris a $210-million contract to develop an underwater tracking capability that relays data on the location and movement of assets operating within the tracking field. The Maritime Underwater Tracking Ranges (MUTR) kicks off Australia’s SEA1350 MUTR Phase 3 Program, which will provide subsurface support for the Royal Australian Navy. The program aids the…

Zelenskyy returns to Washington as GOP dissent grows to funding war

  WASHINGTON (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy returned to Washington on Thursday for a whirlwind one-day visit, this time to face the Republicans now questioning the flow of American dollars that for 19 months has kept his troops in the fight against Russian forces. Zelenskyy arrived at the Capitol to talk privately with Republican and Democratic leaders of the…

Austria to buy four Embraer C-390 cargo planes for over $500 million

  GRAZ, Austria — The Austrian Air Force will buy four Embraer C-390 “Millennium” aircraft to replace its aging fleet of three C-130 “Hercules” cargo planes in a deal that is expected to be worth more than half a billion Euros ($532 million), the defense ministry announced on Wednesday. Austria’s current fleet of turboprop transporters was purchased second-hand 20 years…

MicroStrategy Buys 301 More Bitcoins, Now Holds Almost 130K

The software company purchased the additional coins at an average price of $19,851. MicroStrategy (MSTR) bought 301 bitcoins (BTC) between Aug. 2 and Sept. 19 for about $6 million, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday. The software company that was co-founded by entrepreneur and crypto advocate Michael Saylor bought the world’s largest cryptocurrency…

Leidos Secures $7.9B IT Hardware Contract With US Army

Leidos has received a Common Hardware Systems 6th Generation contract to deliver tactical information technology (IT) hardware solutions for the US Army. The services and equipment will support the existing unified network for the Joint All Domain Command and Control (JADC2), a US defense strategy to enhance information and decision cycles across commanders to gain an advantage against enemy forces….

Florida: West Point sued over using race as an admissions factor

West Point was accused in a federal lawsuit Tuesday of improperly using race and ethnicity as factors in admissions by the same group behind the legal challenge that resulted in the U.S. Supreme Court striking down affirmative action in college admissions. Students for Fair Admissions claims the U.S. Military Academy sets benchmarks for how many Black, Hispanic and Asian cadets there should…

BAE to Explore Heavy-Lift Civilian Hybrid Airship for Military Role

BAE Systems and Hybrid Air Vehicles have agreed to jointly explore a long-range hybrid airship system for security and defense applications. Hybrid’s Airlander 10 will be trialed for new ways of communication and intelligence gathering, according to BAE. It is an “alternative sustainable and cost-effective solution to air logistics and intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities,” according to Hybrid.  It complements…

Ramifications under trade credit & political risk insurance policies for insured’s decision to voluntarily cease business operations within a country

  The ongoing imposition of sanctions against Russia arising from the attack upon Ukraine creates a number of significant issues for insurers which have written trade credit and/or political risk insurance policies. Even where sanctions have not forbidden companies’ business in Russia, many companies have voluntarily chosen to withdraw from the Russian market, in whole or in part.  Companies which…

US sanctions 5 Turkish firms in broad Russia action on over 150 targets

WASHINGTON, Sept 14 (Reuters) – The Biden administration on Thursday imposed sanctions on five Turkish companies and a Turkish national, accusing them of helping Russia evade sanctions and supporting Moscow in its war against Ukraine. The designations, first reported by Reuters, target shipping and trade companies accused of helping repair sanctioned vessels tied to Russia’s defense ministry and helping the transfer…

Is US Heading for New Crisis 15 Years After the 2008 Credit Crunch?

The US could be heading for economic turmoil again 15 years after the 2008 financial crisis rocked the country, three experts have said. Global finance giant Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy on September 15, 2008, more than 150 years after its founding. It was the first major US victim of the sub-prime mortgage collapse. The first warning of the Credit…

Ukrainian Air Force confirms pilots will begin F-16 training at US air base in September

Experienced pilots from Ukraine will learn to pilot F-16s in the United States and Denmark, while young pilots will learn in the United Kingdom, Yuriy Ihnat, spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force, told NV in an interview on Sept. 15. In September, the “language” training of Ukrainian pilots and technicians will begin at an air base in Texas ahead of…

Images Show Wagner Camp In Belarus Continues To Shrink

The first images since the confirmation of the death of Yevgeny Prigozhin show that a suspected tent camp thought to be occupied by troops from Russia’s Wagner mercenary group near the Belarusian village of Tsel, has been further dismantled. The images, taken by Planet Labs on September 9 and obtained by RFE/RL, show that since late August, 60 more tents…